


It's complicated (a.k.a "you are not a Facebook status!")

by Khalehla



Series: Souls on Fire [7]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 22:04:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17496227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khalehla/pseuds/Khalehla
Summary: Some introductions are made.





	It's complicated (a.k.a "you are not a Facebook status!")

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blue_Night](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Night/gifts).



> So, it's been nearly FOREVER since I really put anything out new, and I totally blame/thank **Blue_Night** for inspiring me to get out of my hole and finish up all those stories just waiting there to be given some love. This _is_ part of an AU series, so it might not make sense if you haven't read the others; feel free to go to the end notes if you want a refresher on the setting. It's also unbeta'd and hasn't really been touched since I wrote it years ago (please be gentle).
> 
>  _Blue_Night_ , this isn't the chapter 4 that you were asking, but after looking at the drafts in my drive, I wanted to tweak that chapter some more; I hope this one satisfies your need for a new story in the series.

He’d call it a comedy of errors if it weren’t for the fact that there was nothing really funny about it. It’s not how he’d planned on his friends finding out, but even he has to admit that it wasn’t the best way to let your friend know.

Nico is standing next to his laundry basket, holding up Marc’s spare kit that he’d thrown in with this own laundry, and the look on his friend’s face tells him that Nico has no idea whether to laugh it off as a joke, or cry because it could very well not be a joke.

“So,” Nico says, blinking at him. “Does this mean you’re so far gone in your hatred for ter Stegen that you’re now buying his jerseys in order to perform some weird voodoo ritual?”

Bernd just blinks at the ridiculousness of the question, then sighs as he takes the jersey from Nico and drops it back into the laundry basket. He hands his friend the spare shirt he’d been asking for, taking the rest of the clothes to his room for sorting later. When he gets back to the living room, Nico is sitting on the couch with another beer and a very serious expression on his face.

“The fact that you don’t want to talk about it makes me think that I should push until you do,” Nico says.

Bernd grabs his own bottle and sits opposite his friend, kicking his feet up on to the coffee table. “What do you want me to say?” he asks, non-committedly.

“What’s going on, Bernd?” Nico asks, worry in his voice. “I thought you said you guys were over all the rivalry.”

“We are,” Bernd confirms. “It’s complicated.”

Nico snorts at that. “You are not a facebook status,” he says. “What’s so complicated about the fact that you guys don’t hate each other anymore?”

Bernd just raises an eyebrow at his best friend, then takes another drink, letting Nico come to his own conclusions.

It’s quite a good amount of time before Nico says anything. “Oh my god,” his friend breathes in disbelief. “Oh my _god_. Why didn’t we see this earlier? No wonder you kept going off-grid and not telling anyone where you were - you were with _him_. Jesus _Christ_ , you’ve hooked up with him. After all these years of hating on each other, you’ve _actually_ hooked up with him!”

Bernd doesn’t really know what to say to that so he shrugs and keeps quiet; it’s a lot easier to let Nico work it out himself than have to give up all the sordid details.

“Okay, okay,” Nico says, sitting up straight. “You haven’t outright denied anything, so I’m going to ask, am I right? You’ve hooked up with Marc-André?”

Bernd pauses briefly before saying, “Define ‘hooked up’.”

Nico stares at him even more. “Oh my _god_ ,” he says again, eyebrows so high now they’re practically in his hairline. “This isn’t just a ‘it’s only sex’ hook-up, is it? It’s a proper ‘yes we’re fucking but we expect babies and a mansion and weddings at the end of it’ type of hook-up.”

“Do you have any idea how ridiculous that last bit just sounded?” Bernd asks, a little bit bewildered now too.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Nico points out.

Bernd takes a deep breath  then nods. “Yeah,” he admits so softly Nico has to lean in to catch the rest. “It’s that.”

Nico stares at him in silence for a full minute, then he leans back and laughs - a proper delighted laugh. “Oh _mate_ ,” he grins, a hint of an Australian accent in his voice. “That’s actually pretty fucking amazing! A proper fairy tale, that is - rom-com worthy, even. I mean, what the _fuck?_ How long has this been going on?”

“Long enough,” Bernd says, happy that his friend has no objections to the revelation, but still a bit wary of giving out too much information. “It’s not like it was _planned_ ; it kinda just ended up this way.”

“Jesus,” Nico laughs, shaking his head. “Of course you’d just fall into a relationship with your biggest rival - it’s the kind of messed up thing you _would_ do.”

“Hey!” Bernd objects, but he’s laughing a little too.

“What’s he like when he’s not in front of the camera?” Nico asks, curious.

“Same really,” Bernd says after a small contemplative pause. Genuine, caring. “Talkative.” Articulate, intelligent; a lot of things he just can’t say out loud yet.

“He seems a bit too good on TV,” Nico says, “and I was wondering if he’s always like that.”

“He’s a proper poster boy,” Bernd says rolling his eyes. He’s very much aware of how they’re perceived by the media, and Bernd has to grudgingly admit that Marc’s ‘too good for this world’ image isn’t really that far from truth. Well, at least when he wasn’t deliberately being a dick, anyway.

“He’s looking after you though?”

“Do I really look like I need looking after?”

Nico throws a cushion at him. “It’s my way of asking if you’re happy, asshole.”

“I’m doing his laundry, aren’t I?” Bernd smiles, catching the cushion with one hand.

“Does your football training include evading questions you don’t want to answer?” Nico asks wryly. “All I wanted was a yes or no.”

“Do you really think it’s a ‘no’?”

“Bernd!” his friend complains, throwing more cushions at him.

“Fine! Yes!” Bernd laughs, dodging the fluffy missiles.

“That’s all I wanted to hear,” Nico says once he’s run out of things to throw.

They settle into a comfortable silence before the questions start up again.

“Who else knows?”

“Not that many. Family. Some Germany teammates.”

“Alex knows? Or Chris?”

“Alex yes, Chris no.”

“I bet Alex flipped when they met.”

“They haven’t met yet; it’s not that easy.”

“Well, Chris will definitely lose it when you tell him. _Are_ you planning on telling the boys?”

“Not everyone; I need to discuss it with Marc first. The less people who know, the easier damage control is.”

“Shit! I forgot about that!” Nico says, now concerned more than anything. “What happens if the media find out?”

Bernd sighs. “It’ll be one hell of a fucking shitstorm - especially given our history.”

“Does everyone think you still hate each other?”

“Pretty much. Although the DFB know better now.”

“That’s right; you’d never get called up together if they thought you couldn’t work together.”

Bernd nods, remembering the press conference at the France Euros, the chat from Jogi, the warnings from all their friends. It felt like such a long time ago now even if it really was only a handful of years ago; so much had happened since then. “As long as it’s just the usual media shit, it’s no big deal. And if they haven’t figured it out by now, then we’re probably good for a few more years.”

“You thinking about getting a cover girlfriend? I mean you and Sophie have been over for what? Four years now?”

“Just under three,” Bernd corrects. “So I should be good for another year or two still.”

“And Marc?” Nico asks almost deferentially.

Bernd actually grins. “He’s seeing someone.”

“What?!” Nico exclaims, choking a little. “Are you for real?”

“She’s gorgeous. Super smart. Plays tennis. Chartered accountant from London. Really good cook as well - which is why they get along, I think.”

“You’re okay with this?” Nico asks in disbelief.

Bernd’s grin just gets wider. “She’s also in a very quiet relationship with her partner who is probably going to be the next great theatre actor to come out of the UK. Female partner.”

“Female partner?” Nico asks, now confused.

“Carly picked up that Marc wasn’t trying too hard to make it permanent after they went out on a few dates, and she volunteered to play his girlfriend after she met her partner,” Bernd confirms. “Which is why she’s perfect. I mean, she already knows what it’s like to have to keep a relationship quiet.”

“Jesus, you guys have it all figured out, don’t you?”

“We got lucky, that way.”

Nico shakes his head again. “Well, that kinda answers my other question about whether you’re happy. I don’t think you’d put this much effort if you didn’t want this to last.”

“You have no idea how much work this all is,” Bernd says, rolling his eyes again.

“I’d like to meet him, if that’s okay?” Nico asks tentatively. “I mean, I get if you guys need to talk about it, but you know I’ve kept your secrets for years so I’m not about to go blab to the media.”

“I didn’t say you would,” Bernd says gently. “But you’re right, it’s not just my decision to make. I’ll let you know if and when it can happen.”

\--

‘If and when’ ends up happening only a few weeks later. Probably due to their hectic champions league schedule, Leverkusen get two days in a row off, and Bernd decides it’s close enough to his birthday that he makes a birthday trip out of it, driving to Bietigheim first thing in the morning and arriving in time to have lunch with his brother before heading to the penthouse. He does some cleaning while he waits for his nephew and niece to get out of school so that he can meet Viktoria to go pick them up, and he’s at his brother’s house catching up when Nico posts a picture on Facebook with Alex, checking in to a restaurant in Stuttgart. Bernd hesitates before sending a text to let them know he’s in the area, and it’s only a few minutes before he gets an invitation to dinner.

He’s got a bit of a dilemma now, because Marc only had the next day off, and since Bernd had to drive back to Cologne in the early afternoon if he wanted to be rested for training the next day; he isn’t really keen on giving up the only day he and Marc would see each other until the next international break. The only other time he could possibly see them was after his dinner with his family.

“Just invite them,” Viktoria says when he brings it up. “I mean, it’s your cousin and one of your closest friends - it’s not like they’re strangers.”

Bernd hesitates before saying, “Marc’s coming up after training, though. He was going to join us for dinner if he got out early enough.”

“Hmm,” Viktoria says, looking thoughtful. “I see your dilemma. They’ve never met him, I take it?”

“No.”

“Were you ever planning on introducing Marc to them?”

“Eventually,” Bernd admits, remembering his conversation with Nico.

“Why don’t you just ask Marc, then? If he’s not comfortable, then you know your answer.”

“I guess so,” Bernd agrees, but it’s still another hour before he sends a text to the other keeper, outlining his plans and waiting rather nervously for Marc to get out of training and call him back.

They’ve got the kids bundled up and ready to go out for dinner before Marc eventually calls.

“Hey,” Marc says through his car’s bluetooth, “I got your text.”

“What do you think?”

“It’s up to you, they’re your friends.”

“You’re okay with meeting them?”

“If you say that we won’t end up on the cover of _Bild_ tomorrow morning, I believe you.”

Even after all these years, finding the right balance between guarding their privacy and not locking themselves up in the penthouse or their flats was still so difficult.

“I can ask them to meet us at the restaurant after dinner? That way we’ll still have a booth when Dan and them leave.”

“Yeah sounds good,” Marc agrees. “Okay I’ll see you there. Traffic looks like it might be awful, so let Dan and Vik know I’ll probably be a little late, alright?”

‘A little bit late’ ends up being an understatement, because they’re into dessert and Nico and Alex had already joined them before Marc makes an appearance. It’s a minor nerve-wrecking moment for Bernd, because his niece momentarily forgets everything she’s learned about them being in public, and calls out “Uncle Marc!” when she first spots him.

They all look up in alarm to see if anyone heard, but it seems the restaurant is loud enough that no-one did, and that no-one seems to have noticed the Munich keeper there. Marc quickly slides into the booth when Bernd gets up to let him in, smiling when the kids mumble a quieter “hi Marc” and he greets Bernd’s brother and sister-in-law.

There’s something of an awkward pause when Marc turns to the other guests, and Bernd just rolls his eyes at the way Alex and Nico are gaping at the other keeper like pole-axed kittens.

“This is my cousin Alex, and I’ve told you about Nico,” Bernd says to Marc, introducing them; and he rolls his eyes some more when they two only manage to squeak out “hi” when Marc shakes their hands.

Bernd is about to kick one (or both) of them under the table to get them to stop looking like stunned fanboys when the kids blessedly take up Marc’s attention by showing him their new watches.

“Really?” Bernd asks them in exasperation.

“I wasn’t prepared!” Alex protests. “If I’d known, I would have brought my jersey.”

Bernd nudges Marc to get his attention. “Can you believe that? My cousin owns your jersey, but not mine.”

Marc lets out a small surprised laugh. “You’re a Bayern Munich fan?”

“What?” Alex exclaims. “Hell no! I support the team of my youth thanks - even if cousin dearest abandoned us ten years ago-”

“Nine,” Bernd corrects.

“That's nearly ten,” Alex points out, “but no, I wouldn’t touch a Die Roten shirt with a ten foot pole. It’s the one from when you were playing in Barcelona.”

Marc looks even more confused. “That was more than four years ago.”

“He also has Mesut’s Arsenal jersey,” Bernd says, making  Alex blush slightly.

“I like to support the Germans in my favourite teams,” he explains.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Marc says with a smile.

Daniel and his family leave soon after, and the men linger over a couple more drinks before they also head home. Marc is already yawning by the time they’re headed to their separate cars, and Bernd doesn’t bother switching on any of the other lights in the penthouse when they arrive, knowing they’d head straight to bed anyway.

“Your cousin’s funny,” Marc mumbles sleepily, tugging at Bernd so that the Leverkusen keeper is settled against him, hooking their fingers together over Bernd’s chest and resting his head on his counterpart’s shoulder.

“We took him by surprise,” Bernd snickers. “He’s not normally such a star-struck fan; he’s met some of the Leverkusen boys after all.”

“Glad to know I can still make an impression,” Marc laughs languidly.

“He’ll be your best friend from now on,” Bernd predicts. “You’re going to get sick of him soon.”

“I doubt it - it’s not like he’ll ever cheer me at Bayern.”

“And thank fuck for that.”

“Quiet you.”

Bernd just chuckles, then tilts his head back, leaning into Marc so that the other keeper can place three short kisses on the corner of his mouth. “Night,” he finally says, closing his eyes when he feels Marc’s arms tighten around him.

**Author's Note:**

> Recap: Set in early 2020, Bernd is still at Leverkusen and Marc is at Bayern. The people included in the story have real relationships with Bernd, although I had to infer some of them from going through his Insta account. In _An Unexpected Interlude_ , Marc buys a penthouse in Stuttgart after he moves to Bayern in the 2019/2020 season so that Bernd could have somewhere to stay when visiting his family and Marc could visit easily whenever Bernd was down from Cologne.
> 
> \--
> 
> Yes, I _do_ have a [tumblr account ](https://khalehla.tumblr.com) for my writings and random ficlets. I may even resurrect it, now. I also have a [pillowfort ](https://www.pillowfort.io/khalehla) for both for both MCU (mostly Stucky-related) and men's football RPF. Come say hi. Prompts welcome.
> 
>  
> 
> Disclaimer: I write **fiction** about real people. As far as I know, none of these events ever happened; any resemblance to any actual events are purely coincidental.


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